David Ruben Piqtoukun

Canadian, b. 1950

Airplane, 1995

Brazilian soapstone, African wonderstone

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David Ruben Piqtoukun is originally from the western Arctic community of Paulatuk. He is known for his exploration of cultural loss and confusion in the lives of the Inuit people. This sculpture reveals a childhood memory of the artist. An airplane came to the camp where he lived with his family and he was taken away to live at a residential school in the town of Inuvik. He was not permitted to speak Inuktitut or to hold any Inuit cultural beliefs. He gradually lost touch with his parents, as he often was unable to locate their camp when he was returned to the Paulatuk region each summer. This work was featured at the WAG in the 1996 solo exhibition of the artist’s sculpture, Between Two Worlds.